Idealism and its Opposite

I work in scientific research and have seen its dirty underbelly. Diving in headlong, full of idealism about the scientific method and its inherent humility. What I’ve seen is ambition, hype, and a willingness to avoid hard questions in favor of advancing one’s pet theory of how things work and should be. I see self-proclaimed “skeptics” apply their corrosive reason inconsistently, mainly to make easy targets look stupid but sparing those they see as on the “same side”. Rationalization and hypocrisy: quick to find flaws and quick to forgive flaws, depending.